Visakhapatnam, Their batting in red hot form, hosts India will look to extend their dominance and take a 2-0 lead against the West Indies when the two sides lock horns in the second One-day International (ODI) here on Wednesday.
In the five-match series, Virat Kohli and Co. have won the first ODI in Guwahati with ridiculous ease despite the Windies managing to post a mammoth total of 322/8 thanks to Shimron Hetmyer’s swashbuckling century.
Rohit Sharma (151 not out) and Virat Kohli (140) helped the hosts gun down the target with 47 balls to spare, smashing a few records in the process.
If captain Kohli adds another 81 runs to his already peerless tally, he will become the fastest batsman to 10,000 runs in this format, surpassing batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar took 259 innings to reach the landmark while Kohli has so far batted 204 times.
On a flat deck, Indian bowlers did not fare well but the top order took the game away from their rivals in style.
Under fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni will look to get some runs in the second ODI but against this toothless Windies attack, it is unlikely whether the veteran stumper, who is not in the best of form, will get an opportunity to bat.
India could draft in chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who did not play in the opening game, to replace Khaleel Ahmed, who looked out of sorts against Hetmyer.
For the visitors, the seasoned Marlon Samuels is part of the squad but he perished quickly in the first match.
He would look to make up for his failure, just like India’s Shikhar Dhawan.
Pace spearhead Kemar Roach is back after missing the Test series due to bereavement in the family, but he could not inspire the team first up.
Roach will get another opportunity on Wednesday, and so will the likes of Devendra Bishoo, and skipper Jason Holder himself.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Lokesh Rahul.
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Oshane Thomas.
